


A New Generation

by aionimica



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Cuddling, F/M, ben taking care of things, mamma ben, porgs, porgs getting in the way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-09-27 13:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17162702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aionimica/pseuds/aionimica
Summary: Ben glances at Rey and quietly asks, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life with a twice-fallen former warlord who doesn’t know what place he has in this galaxy except as a porg-mother?”





	A New Generation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriarLily/gifts).



> A delightful treat prompting by the idea of "imprinting porgs." ;)
> 
> many thanks to crossingwinter for looking over this <3 <3
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

 

 

It was several years after the porgs were first introduced to the Millenium Falcon. Back then, Rey and Chewie weren’t sure that they’d survive it outside of their native habitat. Ahch-to had a very wide arrange of fish for them, along with native foliage and the wires and insulation of the Falcon wasn’t exactly the most appropriate substitute. They did their best to provide for the creatures, purchasing whatever they could find in the various markets they stopped in. 

Then the war ended and their haphazard run across the galaxy came to an end. Rey left Chewie with Finn and Leia —  _ I’ve had enough flying for this lifetime, little one,  _ he had said as Rey cried into his fur when they left him on Corsala.  _ I’ll be dreaming of the stars, but it's your turn to see them all _ — and with nothing left to lose, Rey took herself and Ben away to the ends of the galaxy. 

A few of the porgs stayed with Chewie. They were the original ones, the ones that introduced themselves to the Falcon and that nested in Wookie fur and refused to give that luxury up. By the way Chewie’s face lit up as they squawked in his face as the Falcon took off, Rey was fairly sure he welcomed them with open arms. 

And so it went: with each stop over the months and years, the number of porgs on the Falcon dwindled until it was down to a single clutch of eggs. Their mother must have left when they landed on Takodana to visit Maz and they only discovered the nest when Ben was doing some hyperdrive maintenance. Ever since then, they made sure it was evenly warm, that they were turned properly and every now and then, Rey or Ben would find the other laying or sitting in front of the nest whispering to them or caressing them with the Force. 

Which is how she found him after setting their autopilot coordinates for Dantooine. Rey leaned against the bulkheads and smiled. Ben lay on his side, across from where the eggs rested in the insulation. His large frame took up nearly the entire walkway. In the years after the war, he took to changing his outfit —  _ less conspicuous _ , is what Rey told him as she handed him a bantha leather jacket — but it was difficult for him to leave the darker shades behind.

A lightweight dark shirt flattered his chest with sleeves rolled up to his elbows matched with dark pants that shaped his rear in a most delightful way. Rey couldn’t resist giving him a squeeze as she knelt behind him. He jumped, mostly for her sake, before smirking as he caught her gaze before turning back to the nest. Fingerless gloved hands adjusted the insulation around it — long fingers prepping it ever so carefully.

“Is it almost time?” She leaned against him, pressing herself into his heat. An appreciative  _ hmph _ rumbled from his chest. 

“Yeah.”

She curled down next him, her body wrapping around his, her head peering over his neck. “How can you tell?”

“I can… I don’t know.” He squirmed beneath her, turning to allow her better access to him and viewing of the eggs. “I can just feel them. They’re… ready.”

“Is there anything we need to do?”

Ben shook his head, loose bangs falling into his eyes. Since they ran away, he took to keeping his hair long, partially pulled back at the top of his head — either in a bun or a braid, whatever suited his or Rey’s fancy at the moment — and Rey couldn’t help but reach up and brush it from his face. 

Her fingers trailed down his scar before he took her hand, turning it in his leather grip. Soft, full lips pressed against ear her palm and her heart fluttered as he murmured against it. “They should be alright. They can do it on their own.”

~

The first thing Rey noticed the next morning was the small warm weight on her chest. The second thing was the soft meeping sound from the warm ball, and the third and final thing was Ben’s wide-eyed gaze as she rolled over on her side to find him with four porglets curled up on his chest.

“You look like a proud mama,” she said, her eyes sparking with delight. 

He said nothing - Rey wasn’t entirely sure he was breathing — only reaching up and cupping each one gently in his giant palms. Lifting it up to his face, she felt him reach out in the Force, whispering a gentle  _ hello _ . 

By the end of the morning, he ended up with all five coiled in his shirt and Rey tucked against his side. “I don’t ever want to move,” he said quietly. 

She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips. “You don’t have to.”

Over the next few days, they were busy keeping the porglets safe — they realized almost immediately that the Falcon was not baby-proofed. 

But as the days turned into weeks, the porglets became brave. Rey would find them in cracks and crevices she didn’t know existed, but despite all their adventures, they’d always come back and gather at Ben’s feet when he called. Some days he didn’t even need to call — Rey would just round the corner to find him pulling a porg out of a pocket or delicately stepping over one on his way to her.

They made nests in his hair — when they began to try and pull it out on their own, he’d take the hair from his comb and leave it out for them. They followed after him in a. Line, mouths open as they begged him for food. They’d let Rey feed them, but only if Ben was off ship. He was their mother, for all they cared, and Rey reveled in watching him care for a clutch of porgs. 

“It’s new for me,” he admitted once after they hatched. “I’ve never had to take care of something. I’ve never wanted to… at least not before you and now…”

He didn’t need to finish, nor did he have the chance to before running off to catch one as it climbed too high on the Falcon’s wiring. 

“Proud mamma,” she murmured as they fell into their bed one night, her arms wrapped around him.

His chuckle came as a blessing. How long had passed since they met before she heard that sound? It was deeper than she expected, the farthest thing from bells, though it still struck a chord in her heart and made her yearn for more.

Ben pulled himself over her, his lips roving and searching. Rey responded in kind as her hands grabbed and pulled him close, desperately freeing him his clothes, and as his naked chest pressed against hers, they heard an odd shriek and paused. 

Rey snorted when she saw the source and Ben hung his head as he laughed silently. Over there in the doorway were five porglets huddled together, staring at them wide-eyed and meeping. 

“Very proud mamma,” he agreed with a smile before gesturing to the porglets. “Come on.”

She went to bed with feathers in her hair that night. 

When they woke, it was to the streaking stars of the Hianin nebula and the soft coos of the sleeping porgs. Ben’s four were clustered on his chest while Rey’s solo porg curled in the crook of her neck. The lights were still off in their cabin, but she could feel Ben’s gaze, feel his attention sparking in the corner of her mind. It was familiar but tinged with an uncertainty she hadn’t felt in some time. 

Rey reached under the covers, taking his hand in hers as if to ask,  _ what is it? _

“Is this what you want?”

She hummed in response, a question more than a statement. Ben tilted on his side, as to not disturb the babies. One stirred and glanced at him with a bleary eye before Ben covered him gently with his hand. It meeped in satisfaction and Ben couldn't help but smile. But it fell from his face when he looked at her again, clouded with shame as he asked, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life with a twice-fallen former warlord who doesn’t know what place he has in this galaxy except as a porg-mother?”

They knew what they were to each other in the Force. They could feel it beating in each other, the lifeblood of what they were, what held them together and made them, them. Where he once was a tempest, a storm out on a restless sea, he’d calmed to a glassy pool underneath a clear sky, the sun never setting. Power lay dormant in his bones, just as it did with her — one day they’d be ready to call on it again; the Force would call on them again and they’d rise to the occasion, but for now, they were just two people — just Ben and Rey and she held on it for all that she had.                   

“I wouldn’t trade you for all the riches in the world,” she said, conviction wrapped around the words.  _ Believe it _ , she willed to him through the bond,  _ believe me _ . She felt his burning sun, wanting to hide itself behind clouds. She turned towards him, careful to not rouse the sleeping bundle of fluff on her chest, but she pulled him to her, coiling her hands tight in his hair as she kissed him, putting in every bit of longing and want as she could into her lips; seeking him, tasting him, wanting to consume and be consumed, so that was their desire. 

Hungry eyes met hers and heat coiled in her core and strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close as she whispered against him, “Porgs and all.”


End file.
